Donna Orofino Patno, DNP, CNM, graduated in 1987 from Union College, NY with a degree in biology and psychology. Choosing to pursue a career nursing, she went on to receive a Doctor of Nursing with a focus in women's healthcare in 1990, a Master of Nursing Science in nurse midwifery in 1991, and was then awarded a Doctor of Nursing Practice in 2006, all from Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing at Case Western Reserve University. She has held a variety of clinical appointments in nurse midwifery and fetal diagnosis and therapy throughout Northeast Ohio prior to relocating to Cincinnati to continue to help care for pregnant women and their babies.

Donna has lectured extensively on fetal diagnosis and treatment, diabetes during pregnancy, pregnancy in the adult survivor of congenital heart disease, the ethics of medical decision making in pregnancy, and anticipatory guidance in patient education.